THE SNAKE AND THE MIRROR

REFERENCE TO THE CONTEXT

1. I tried in my imagination to write in bright letters outside my little heart the

words, 'O God". There was some pain in my left arm. It was as if a thick
leaden rod-no, a rod made of molten

fire was slowly but powerfully crushing my arm.

(Page 58)

Questions:
(a) What did the narrator decide to do in his imagination?
(b) Why did he decide to do so?

(c) Which arm of the doctor have some pain?

(d) What did he feel?

Answers:

(a) He decided to write to God.

(b) As he was afraid, it is human tendency to remember God in critical

situations.
(c) There was some pain in the doctor's left arm.
(d) He felt a rod made of molten fire was slowly but powerfully crushing his
arm.

2. It looked into the mirror and saw its reflection. I do not claim that it was
the first snake that had ever looked into a mirror. But it was certain that the
snake was looking into the mirror. (Page 58)

Questions:
(a) What did the snake see into the mirror?
(b) Who does 'I' refer to here?
(c) What was the doctor not sure of?
(d) What was the doctor assured of?

Answers:
(a) The snake saw its reflection into the mirror.
(b) Here 'I' refers to the doctor.
(c) The doctor was not sure whether it was the first snake that ever looked
into the mirror.
(d) The doctor was sure that the snake was looking into the mirror.

3. Still holding my breath I got up from the chair. I quietly went out through
the door into the veranda. From there I leapt into the yard and ran for all I
was worth. "Phew!" Each of us heaved
a sigh of relief.
Questions:

(a) Why was the doctor holding his breath?

(b) What did the doctor do silently?
(c) What does the sentence '
I leapt into the yard and ran for all I was worth' mean?
(d) What does the phrase 'heaved a sigh of relief" mean?

Answers:
(a) So that the snake would not get disturbed and bite him.
(b) The doctor silently went out through the door into the veranda.
(c) It means the narrator jumped into the yard and ran with his full energy
and effort.
(d) It means the narrator was relieved from tension.

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Q1. What can you say about the noise repeatedly made in the narrator's
room?
Ans. It was a hot summer night. It was about ten o'clock. The narrator, a
doctor, had his meal at the restaurant and returned to his room. He heard a
noise from above. He lighted the kerosene lamp on the table. Later he
found that it was a snake which was making the noise.

Q2. What two 'important' and 'earth-shaking' decisions did the doctor take
while he was looking into the mirror?

Ans. The doctor took two decisions while he band was looking into the
mirror. First, he would shave daily and grow a thin moustache to look more
handsome. Second, he would always keep an attractive smile on his face.

Q3. What happened to the doctor when he was sitting in his chair?

Ans. As the doctor resumed his seat in the chair, suddenly there came a
dull thud as if a rubber tube had fallen on the ground. He turned around to
take a look. No sooner had he turned than a fat snake wriggled over the
back of the chair and landed on the doctor's shoulder.

Q4. What made the doctor say, "Death lurked four inches away"?

Ans. When the snake landed on the doctor's shoulder, he didn't jump or
tremble. He didn't even cry out. He knew that at the slightest movement,
the snake would strike him. Because its head was spread and its head was
hardly three or four inches from his face. Then he said, "Death lurked four
inches away."

Q5. What did the doctor do when the snake jumped onto the table and
moved towards the mirror?

Ans. The doctor got up from his chair and quietly went out through the
door. Me reached the verandah, jumped into the yard and ran as fast as he
could. He kept on running till he reached a friend's place. There he
smeared oil all over himself and took a bath. He changed into fresh clothes.
LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS
Q1. "I was but a poor, foolish and stupid doctor." Justify the statement in
the light of the story, "The Snake and the Mirror."
Ans. The author uttered these words. He was right in using these words.
His financial condition was not sound. He was living in a rented room and
had no facility there. He endured the company of rats. When the snake was
about to strike him, he thought about medicines. But he did not have any
medicine at home. So he cursed his poverty and declared himself foolish
for not keeping any medicine. The house he was living in, was not
electrified. He had just set up medical practice and his earnings were
meagre. At first he did not heed the sound in the room and took it casually.
The fat snake wriggled over the bank of the chair and landed on his
shoulder. It shows that the author acted in a stupid manner. Thus we can
say that the words used bythe author for himself are justified.

Q2. How did the author get rid of the snake and where did he go after his
escape from the snake's clutches and what did he do?

Ans. The snake coiled round the author's left arm and its head was hardly
three or four inches from his face. He remembered and prayed to God for
his well being. The snake turned its face itself and crept onto the table and
moved towards the mirror. It looked into the mirror and saw its reflection.
The doctor made no movements to get rid of the snake. In this way he got
rid of the snake.The doctor quickly went out through the door into the
veranda. He ran and reached a friend's house. He smeared oil all over
himself and took a bath. He changed into fresh clothes. The next morning
at about eight thirty he took his friend and one or two others to his room to
move his things from there. But to his surprise he did not find anything
there because most of the things had been stolen by a thief.
 Q3. What opinion do you form of the doctor in the story "The Snake and
the Mirror?
Ans. The narrator of the story is a homeopathy doctor. He is a medical
practitioner. He was a bachelor. His earnings were quite meagre. He had
about sixty rupees in his suitcase. Besides some shirts and 'dhotis, he
possessed a black coat. His house was not electrified. He lighted a
kerosene lamp on the table. The narrator was very particular about his
looks. He decided to shave daily and grow a thin moustache to look more
handsome. He wanted to marry a woman doctor who had plenty of money.
He wanted his wife to be fat. If he needed to run away, she would not be
able to catch him. The doctor behaved quite normally when a fat snake
landed on his shoulder. He didn't jump. He didn't tremble. He didn't cry out.
He remembered God and felt His presence in his heart luckily. The snake
went away without harming him. In the end, we find that all his things were
stolen by a thief. Only his dirty vest was left behind. His wife was not a fat
woman. On the contrary, she was a thin reedy person. She had the gift of a
sprinter.